Fish tape is used by electricians to pull wiring through conduit when installing wiring in new construction or when renovating or fixing the wiring in existing construction. The fish tape usually comprises a metal or plastic strip that has an eye or coupling on one of its free ends. The eye is typically inserted into an opening in a conduit and pushed through the conduit until it reaches the opening found on the other end of the conduit. If a cable puller is to be used for fishing the wire, then a pulling rope is attached to the eye of the fish tape, and the rope is then pulled through the conduit by reversing the direction of the fish tape. Finally, the pulling rope is attached to the wiring and the wiring is then pulled through the conduit via the cable puller.
On the other hand, sometimes the amount of the wiring is small enough that the forces generated by a cable puller are not necessary to pull the wiring through the conduit. In such situations, the eye of the fish tape is attached directly to the wire that is to be pulled. The fish tape is then pulled out of the conduit until the wiring has been pulled through the conduit.
Over the years, different types of devices have been employed to facilitate the dispensing and retraction of the fish tape to accomplish the tasks mentioned above. One common device comprises a generally circular case with an opening in its middle with a handle disposed outside the case that has a winding belt disposed within the case. The handle and the winding belt are integrally formed.
The case is constructed preferably by mating two identical housings that are made ABS or another suitable plastic material. Each housing includes an outside wall that is configured like a flat ring. An outer annual wall depends perpendicularly from the outside peripheral edge of the outside wall, and an inner annular wall depends perpendicularly from the inside peripheral edge of the outside wall. A pinch ring wall depends from the outside wall and is perpendicular thereto. This pinch ring wall is typically located a small distance inside the outer annular wall. When the two housings are mated with each other, the pinch ring walls and the inner annular walls abut each other, closing off the interior of the housings to the outside. A central hole is formed at the center of the device by the inner annular wall.
The height of the outer annular wall is slightly less than the height of the inner annular wall and the pinch ring wall. When the housings are mated, the device, which has a generally annular shape, has an annular chamber that is defined by the outer annular walls and the pinch ring walls. A slight gap is formed between the outer annular walls along the outer circumference of the mated housings that exposes the annular chamber to the outside. The winding belt is disposed within this annular chamber. The winding belt is made of nylon or another suitable plastic material, and can freely slide in the annular chamber when wound by a user. The handle which is attached to the winding belt, is positioned proximate to the outer surfaces of the outer annular walls.
A fish tape storage chamber in which the fish tape is stored, is defined by the outside walls, the pinch ring walls, and the inner annular walls. The majority of the pinch ring walls abut each other except for a predetermined area on each housing. In this area, the housings are slightly spread apart so the fish tape can extend from the storage chamber, in between the pinch ring walls of the housings and into the annular chamber.
The winding belt obstructs the gap between the outer annular walls such that the fish tape that is held in the storage chamber cannot fall out of the device unintentionally. It should be noted that it is preferable to have the winding belt be continuous, forming a complete circle, to make sure that the fish tape does not exit the device, should the device be dropped or impacted.
Upon assembly, the free end of the fish tape that has the eye is fed through a slot found in the handle. The other free end of the fish tape is attached to one housing so the fish tape cannot be completely pulled out of or separated from the device. The bulk of the fish tape is wound in a predetermined direction and is held within the storage chamber. Once the housings are fully assembled with the winding belt and fish tape disposed therein, the housings are fastened together using screws.
In certain prior art designs, the winding belt does not have a constant width. Instead, the side walls of the winding belt that connect the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the winding belt are not flat, but are straight and angled so that the width of the winding belt varies. Typically, the width of the winding belt is its greatest next to the slot in the handle, which helps to ensure that the two housings remain apart, easing the dispensing and retraction of the fish tape by making sure that the pinch ring walls do not press too tightly on the fish tape. The winding belt then narrows and has its minimum width at the point that is diametrically opposite the slot of the handle, which minimizes the amount of friction that occurs between the housings and the winding belt when the winding belt slides in the annular chamber.
This device is used in the following manner. The user holds the device with one hand by placing his/her hand within the central hole of the device such that the exposed surfaces of the inner annular walls fit in the central portion of the palm of the user's hand. At the same time, the fingers of the user's hand grasps the outside wall of one housing, while the portion of the palm next to the user's wrist and thumb press onto the outside wall of the other housing. The user then uses the other hand to pull on the handle in a direction opposite of the direction that the fish tape is wound within the device while holding the device stationary with the other hand. This motion causes the winding belt to slide in a circular manner within the annular chamber and slowly forces the fish tape out of the device to dispense the fish tape. The user then pushes on the handle in the opposite direction to cause the winding belt to slide in the other direction which causes the fish tape to be retracted into the device. As the fish tape is dispensed and retracted, the slight gap between the pinch ring walls follows along the perimeter of the device next to the slot of the handle as it is moved.
Obviously, there is a fair amount of friction that the user must overcome in order to effectuate the dispensing and retracting of the fish tape. For example, the coils of fish tape are under some spring tension when they are wound into the device so that some friction is produced between the coils as they contact each other and the walls of the device. In addition, the winding belt typically has inner and outer circumferential walls that are flat and contact the outer annular walls and pinch ring walls as the winding belt slides. Also, the side walls of the winding belt that connect the inner and outer circumferential walls are also flat, or angled as previously described, and contact the outer walls of the device. Consequently, even more friction is generated as the user tries to dispense or retract the fish tape by sliding the handle and the winding belt. This can make it difficult for the user to dispense or retract the fish tape without having the hand holding onto the device slip unintentionally, leading to wasted time and user frustration.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a device that eases the dispensing and retraction of fish tape in an easier fashion by reducing the amount of friction developed within the device when dispensing or retracting the fish tape since having angled side walls on the winding belt has not been proven to be sufficient. It is also desirable to improve the ergonomics of the device of the fish tape so that the user's hand does not slip when using the fish tape device.